Families Of Fallen Officers Ask For Jan. 6th Investigation

Most Republicans in the House voted against creating a bipartisan committee to investigate the riot at the Capitol on January 6th. The bill is now in the Senate, where it will likely take 60 votes to approve it. Sadly, it looks like there will not be enough Republicans to vote for it to reach the 60 votes (which would take 10 GOP senators). 

The Republicans don't want the committee established because they are afraid the report by that committee would embarrass their party, and maybe hurt the party in the 2022 election. For them, party politics is more important that getting the truth about the riot, and passing legislation to prevent it from happening again.

That's not making the families of fallen Capitol Police Officers happy though. They want an investigation. Here's what they had to say:

The mother Of Officer Brian Sicknick is asking to meet with Republican senators, and had this to say:

“Not having a January 6 Commission to look into exactly what occurred is a slap in the faces of all the officers who did their jobs that day. I suggest that all Congressmen and Senators who are against this Bill visit my son’s grave in Arlington National Cemetery and, while there, think about what their hurtful decisions will do to those officers who will be there for them going forward.”

“Putting politics aside, wouldn’t they want to know the truth of what happened on January 6? If not, they do not deserve to have the jobs they were elected to do.” 

The family of Officer Howie Liebengood had this to say:

“We believe a thorough, non-partisan investigation into the root causes of and the response to the January 6th riot is essential for our nation to move forward. Howie’s death was an immediate outgrowth of those events.” 

“Every officer who worked that day, as well as their families, should have a better understanding of what happened. Uncovering the facts will help our nation heal and may lessen the lingering emotional bitterness that has divided our country. We implore Congress to work as one and establish the proposed Commission."

We Have A Duty To Criticize Military Officers When Wrong

Too often in this country, we fail to criticize senior officers (and ex-officers) of the military when they are wrong (just like we do with religious figures and doctors).

This was illustrated this last week, when the White House Press Secretary berated the media for questioning ex-general Kelly. Kelly had been wrong when accusing Rep. Wilson of misdeeds. But Press Secretary Sanders said it was wrong to question a "four star general". She was wrong.

In this country, no one is above the law -- and no one is above being questioned and criticized when they screw up. And that includes the military.

Consider this from USA Today:

Since 2013, military investigators have documented at least 500 cases of serious misconduct among its generals, admirals and senior civilians, almost half of those instances involving personal or ethical lapses, a USA TODAY investigation has found.

Many cases involve sex scandals, including a promiscuous Army general who led a swinging lifestyle, another who lived rent-free in the home of a defense contractor after his affair fell apart and another who is under investigation for sending steamy Facebook messages to the wife of an enlisted soldier on his post.

Now these weren't enlisted personnel or junior officers. They were SENIOR OFFICERS in all branches of our military.

I'm not trying to denigrate the military in general. Most of our military personnel (at all levels) serve honorably, and they deserve our unflinching gratitude. My point is that those senior officers in the military are human beings (just like the rest of us) -- and some of them are not very smart or ethical or moral human beings (again, just like the rest of us).

They should not be put on a pedestal and never questioned. And when they do stupid or unethical or immoral things, they need to be criticized -- and they should be expected to apologize.

General Kelly owes Rep. Wilson (and all Americans) an apology -- and he should not be excused from making that apology just because he was a four star general.